Scots call ‘not true’ to Italy’s Tommy Allan

Tommy Allan, seen here playing for the Scotland U20 side, will play Test rugby for Italy. Picture: SNS

Tommy Allan, the dual-qualified stand-off who opted to play Test rugby for Italy, has revealed how he rejected a last-ditch offer from Scotland coach Scott Johnson.

The player, who has an Italian mother and Scots father, played for Scotland under-20 but was courted by Italy and made his Test debut against Australia in the autumn.

Allan said that the Scottish Rugby Union’s failure to offer him a contract with either of its professional teams helped make his decision easier.

Describing the phone call from Johnson, Allan said: “I told him I wanted to play for Italy and he told me he wanted me to play for Scotland but I didn’t think that was true because they’d never offered me anything this year [2013] at Glasgow or Edinburgh and I hadn’t been talking to them much lately so I don’t think that was the truth. I think they just wanted me to say ‘no’ to Italy but I’m not sure.

“I saw that there were three tens [stand-offs] already in the extended Scotland squad.”